Watch What You Throw, Aunt Judy

On Sat, 06 Jan 2007 16:19:37 -0800, Scott en Aztlán >
wrote:

>Those handfuls of marbles you like to toss could land you in the
>pokey!

Hey, its Virginia. Anything you do can get you tossed in jail... including
doing nothing.

DPH

>http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2...1052007/248844
>
>Tossing bag nets 2 years
>
>Woman sentenced to prison for flinging sack containing soft drink from
>her vehicle into another on Interstate 95.
>
>Date published: 1/5/2007
>
>By KEITH EPPS
>
>A Stafford jury yesterday recommended that a woman serve two years in
>prison for throwing a McDonald's bag containing an ice cold drink at
>another motorist on Interstate 95 last year.
>
>Jessica Julia Hall, a 25-year-old mother of three, was convicted of
>throwing a missile at an occupied vehicle, a felony, stemming from a
>July 2 incident on Interstate 95 in Stafford. No one was injured in
>the incident.
>
>A jury deliberated nearly five hours over two days before announcing
>its decision yesterday in Stafford Circuit Court.
>
>Hall was also convicted of three misdemeanors stemming from the
>incident, which some around the courthouse have dubbed the "McMissile
>Case."
>
>Hall's bond was revoked yesterday and she will be in jail at least
>until her formal sentencing on Feb. 21, when defense attorney Terence
>Patton is sure to ask a judge to reduce or suspend altogether the two
>years Hall is facing.
>
>Hall, whose husband is a Marine serving in Iraq, had no prior criminal
>record.
>
>According to evidence presented by prosecutor George Elsasser, Hall
>and other family members were on their way from North Carolina to New
>York when they ran into stalled traffic in the North Stafford area.
>
>A fatal accident in Prince William was the reason for what Elsasser
>described as "slow and go" traffic.
>
>Pete Ballin, a Washington man who was also heading north from North
>Carolina, testified that he was in the left lane going only a few
>miles per hour when Hall passed him on the shoulder of the highway,
>then cut in front of him, forcing Ballin to hit his brakes to avoid a
>collision.
>
>Ballin said he got into the middle lane to get away from Hall, who he
>said had been driving erratically for some time. He ended up passing
>her again when the left lane she was in came to a stop.
>
>Ballin said that after he returned to the left lane, Hall got onto the
>shoulder of the road and passed him again. This time there wasn't room
>for her to cut back in front of him, and Ballin said he wouldn't have
>let her in anyway.
>
>Ballin testified that as she passed him the second time, he gave her a
>gesture expressing exasperation with her driving. A short time later,
>he said, her car door opened and the McDonald's bag went flying past
>his face.
>
>After liquid got all over him and his passenger, Eliza Fowle, Ballin
>said he pulled to the shoulder in part because he wasn't sure what had
>been thrown into his car.
>
>Ballin said he got back onto the travel lane after a woman got out of
>Hall's car and moved hurriedly toward his vehicle.
>
>He said Hall continued to follow him into Prince William County, where
>he saw a state trooper in the median. The trooper, Clinton Preston II,
>was finishing up paperwork from the fatal wreck that had traffic
>stalled.
>
>As Ballin was telling Preston what had happened, Hall drove by.
>Preston stopped her after Ballin pointed her out.
>
>Preston testified that Hall told him she threw the drink at Ballin
>because he'd angered her by cutting her off several times. She said
>she didn't mean to hit the passenger, Preston said.
>
>Hall testified at her sentencing hearing that she regretted what she
>did, but said it was a mutual road-rage incident. She compared her
>actions to "giving someone the finger."
>
>Elsasser argued that it was much more serious than that, saying such
>actions could lead to serious accidents, especially on a major
>highway.
>
>Hall was also convicted of reckless driving, assault and battery and
>assault. The jury recommended a total of $1,000 in fines for those
>convictions.